Does your wife know
- Thread starter Kevin54
- Start date
Just to add with what I said above and for ones safety......when I showed the wife how things will flare up, a lot of people will start their burnpiles using a variety of different things instead of using paper or kindling (I'm guilty of it too) Gasoline vapor will creep along the ground and if it is a very hot breezy day, will actually rise some. There is a video of a guy dousing his brushpile with 5 gallons of gasoline and when he lit it, he was standing in the vapors that had already crept around him in just a matter of seconds.
Diesel is actually slow to light due to the oil in it. Although it's not a good idea to stand right beside it, chances are, you COULD actually stoop down and light it. Dropping something like a cigarette **** into it will not cause it to flame up. In fact, a bucket of diesel will snuff out a ****. It takes something hotter to light it.
Parts cleaner will flare up about the same as gasoline. If someone decides to start a fire with it, and again, not recommended to use, but use stick matches and give them a toss into the pile.
DO NOT start a fire using lacquer thinner. I found out years ago on a pile I had a hard time getting to start. I cut the top off of a beer can (insert.."Hold my beer and watch this") I cut the top off the can, filled it with lacquer thinner, stood back and gave it a toss. That **** will ignite with a boom before it ever gets close to a flame. If a person were to douse a pile of brush with it and walk stoop down to light it, your *** is going to be going by squad to the ER and the Burn Unit.
So although I showed the wife what chemicals do what, I figured I better add what NOT to use to start that huge pile of brush. And don't take me wrong, I don't condone doing it and I keep a stack of papers for starting my brush piles.
Diesel is actually slow to light due to the oil in it. Although it's not a good idea to stand right beside it, chances are, you COULD actually stoop down and light it. Dropping something like a cigarette **** into it will not cause it to flame up. In fact, a bucket of diesel will snuff out a ****. It takes something hotter to light it.
Parts cleaner will flare up about the same as gasoline. If someone decides to start a fire with it, and again, not recommended to use, but use stick matches and give them a toss into the pile.
DO NOT start a fire using lacquer thinner. I found out years ago on a pile I had a hard time getting to start. I cut the top off of a beer can (insert.."Hold my beer and watch this") I cut the top off the can, filled it with lacquer thinner, stood back and gave it a toss. That **** will ignite with a boom before it ever gets close to a flame. If a person were to douse a pile of brush with it and walk stoop down to light it, your *** is going to be going by squad to the ER and the Burn Unit.
So although I showed the wife what chemicals do what, I figured I better add what NOT to use to start that huge pile of brush. And don't take me wrong, I don't condone doing it and I keep a stack of papers for starting my brush piles.
My wife wouldn't have a clue what to sell my tools for, but I have taken care of it in 2 ways for her.
1. most of my tools are stored in the shop at our lake place which my sister and I put in a family trust for the decendents of our parents including a cash amount that will cover the taxes for many years. ( I also have a life insurance policy that has the trust listed as the benifecery)
She has instructions that the tools not be sold so they are there for future generations.
2. for insurance reasons I have a very complete list with both replacement and real world values that I update once a year.
Like Kevin I think that not being prepared is just silly!
1. most of my tools are stored in the shop at our lake place which my sister and I put in a family trust for the decendents of our parents including a cash amount that will cover the taxes for many years. ( I also have a life insurance policy that has the trust listed as the benifecery)
She has instructions that the tools not be sold so they are there for future generations.
2. for insurance reasons I have a very complete list with both replacement and real world values that I update once a year.
Like Kevin I think that not being prepared is just silly!
Duct Tape Man
Well-known member
My wife and my kids know that if I die, DO NOT throw out daddy's collection of things. First, keep what you want, and know that it is a good investment. Then, look into the best way to sell or auction whatever you don't want to keep for the best return. They know daddy doesn't buy **** tools, or **** anything else, and that there are buyers out there with good money who will pay it for the stuff I leave behind. I told them, consider daddy's things a savings account, where you can actually make good use out of the items (tools, guns, collectables, etc.) while you own them (unlike money in the bank's savings account), but when you don't need them anymore, they can be "cashed in" for a profit, just like an interest-bearing account. Daddy didn't marry a fool, nor do I raise any.
GarageWarrior
Well-known member
Kevin54, do you realize how much hassle it is to try to get retail for your stuff even when you actually know what you've got?
Identifying items, tracking down what goes with what and any missing pieces, cleaning up, taking pictures, putting up listings, storing stuff while waiting for it to sell, arranging to meet with buyers/showing the stuff/ packing /shipping - for a large tool collection that ends up being years of very stressful and poorly paid work.
Identifying items, tracking down what goes with what and any missing pieces, cleaning up, taking pictures, putting up listings, storing stuff while waiting for it to sell, arranging to meet with buyers/showing the stuff/ packing /shipping - for a large tool collection that ends up being years of very stressful and poorly paid work.
Nick Danger
Well-known member
I'm Joe Homeowner, so the replacement value for my tools is under $10k. But Mrs Danger has told me many times not to sell off her paintings and drawings for cheap.
Since she's an artist, she knows about solvents.
Since she's an artist, she knows about solvents.
e-tek
Well-known member
While that's admirable and she will appreciate having the name of a company to work with, they'll still just bundle it all up and sell it by weight!
To each his own of course, but we have always carefully LIMITED our spends on attorneys. They overcharge for every minute of their time and effort. We researched and then made up our wills - no lawyers needed. We have a special needs son who will need to be carefully administered for and a lawyer would just take 30% (or more) of everything he should get. We have a primary and secondary executor who have personal interests in his welfare (grandparents, sister). Also, when we buy rental homes and such we use a lawyer who charges basic rates only. Nothing for phone calls, faxes, etc...
Again, to each his own, but EXACTLY. Can you imagine the extra stress put on your spouse when you're specifying (from beyond the grave) how to dispose of your tools and for how much? That's the LAST memory I want to leave my wife and children with.
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Brownsfan
Well-known member
If something were to happen to me she knows to give them to my nephew. He is automotive tech(dealer mechanic). What he does not need she keeps for my son or daughter when they get older
i have a brother and friends that will help her with my tools but just to prove kevin's point i have been collecting video games for years old nintendo,super nintendo ect i told my wife that i was going to sell them so we started looking up what they where worth. i sold 18 game cartages to one guy this weekend for $375 and 6 to another guy for $150 my wife told me she didn't have any idea they where worth that much. i didn't give any where that much for them so i made money.
I must have missed a posting or something, but I never said anything about getting retail. I'm not going to backtrack through things to find what you are talking about, but all I mentioned was ......Does your wife know what your things are worth.
Myself, I care very much about my wife, and together we look for bargains like anyone else. But along with that, as looking for bargains, I may haggle with someone to get a better deal, but I am also the type that ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT take advantage of a person because of them not knowing what something is worth.
I never once said anything about retail prices. But if it got down to brass tacks and being able to have a decent car to drive, or being able to keep what you worked for all of your life, then if something happened, a spouse needs to be in the loop in case of something tragic happening. Not all people are on top of their game.
For instance, if you kicked the bucket tomorrow, would your grieving wife be able to keep a roof over her and the kids head? Say that she never worked before and all of a sudden had to go out and get a job. As tight as the economy is, she may not be able to get one for a few months. And if that was the case, and say maybe the family Truckster is in need of repair, and you only have a few thou in the checking and/or savings....maybe selling $50,000 worth of tool boxes and tools for $500 would tide her over for what....a month if that? Spouses need to know what they can do, and have some kind of idea what things are worth if something tragic happens.
That was the whole point of the thread, was just making sure a spouse would have some sort of idea about worth in the event of something tragic happening. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing said about retail prices, nothing said about Snap-On vs. Mac, nothing said about her new boyfriend, or the kids inheriting this and that. All I said was in the wake of a tragedy, a spouse needs to have some kind of idea. If you don't have any plans, and don't want the wife to know what you have or what it's worth, and if you don't have a Will spelling out who gets what, I really don't give a ****. It's all up to you as to how you want to handle your affairs.
As far as my wife, she now knows and has some kind of idea what is actually in the garage. She now knows what has some worth and what doesn't.
If you are on your death bed, no life insurance as many DO NOT have, and it came down to your wife and kids being able to make it, and she sells your **** for a few pennies on the dollar, I really don't care. What I DO CARE ABOUT is my wife knowing some worth of the stuff in the garage that is in my domain. What she does with it after I would kick the bucket is entirely up to her. I'd be six under and not caring. I don't expect her to go through every drawer in the toolbox and to price every little piece and part, or to sit on the computer for days, weeks, months trying to find out what the **** retail is on something. I made a statement about keeping the spouse in the loop about things and that is it.
Jeezus Christ man.....If people want to hide **** from the wife, and don't want to tell her what you bought with your weekly paycheck, I don't really give a damn. It's your money, it's your life, it's your marriage, and I respect that. If you're dropping $20's at the strip joint night after night, more power to you for hiding it from the spouse. It's not my business and I could care less.
Bottom line is, I care enough about my wife that if something tragic happens to me, that she won't struggle to make ends meet for the rest of her life, hence the reason for me showing her what is what, explaining things to her, and telling her that if something tragic happens to me, there is a few thousand sitting in the garage instead of a few hundred.
If I knew that so many one would get their ******* in a bunch, I would have never mentioned anything at all. I don't pay retail for a lot of things I aquire, and I don't expect to get "retail" when I sell something. But I sure as **** won't give it away and I hope the wife doesn't either.
For the MODS.....maybe delete this thread all together, so there isn't any arguments going on.
WarrenJ
Well-known member
kevin
good idea with this post. It is something I need to do. Many tools were my dad's and would pass those to me nephews so they had something from their grandpa.
The rest I need to catalog and give her the paperwork. Same with the guns.
good idea with this post. It is something I need to do. Many tools were my dad's and would pass those to me nephews so they had something from their grandpa.
The rest I need to catalog and give her the paperwork. Same with the guns.
Steevo
Well-known member
You sir, have obviously never had the pleasure of knowing any quality auction companies.
Krokodil
Well-known member
Check my signature, but seriously, I recently wrote all my tools up for insurance purposes. Actually very scary. You don't realize what you have accumulated over a number of years.
GarageWarrior
Well-known member
I assumed you were talking about putting resale value at retail e.g. - what each individual item would sell for on ebay or craigslist in good working order with good pictures and description and a patient seller with flexible schedule and in a convent location.
It's a VERY different ballpark when a liquidator comes in and cuts you a check for a bulk lot of items. When a $50K tools collection takes $40K of labor to liquidate at retail, bulk-buyer would be looking to offer less than $10K to leave room for reasonable profit.
If you really want to take care of somebody - give them cash, stocks or gold bullion, not a stressful job.
justanengineer
Well-known member
Why should she have to know? Placing "value" on things is rather pointless since it goes up/down with the economy, the method of liquidating things, and a bunch of other factors. Frankly, if she needs to know, youre not preparing her properly and are in fact making things worse. Ive survived a large portion of my family putting "value" on things....after the lawyers, relatives, and everybody gets done arguing "value" little is left with the family.
In my case, she knows who the good auctioneers are and who the bad are, and specifically the reasons each is good/bad. She also knows what a properly advertised sale should look like and how the entire process works - she works on/off for an auctioneer as a clerk. When I croak theres no disappointment of "he said its $20k, auctioneer only got $2k," and its all a very quick and easy process, which is the most important thing to do during a very difficult time. Theres no extra effort necessary, no worries about tools rusting/losing value in the months that it takes to liquidate a shop one tool at a time, and hopefully less sentimentality to slow things down.
Beyond all that, if somebodys tools' value will make/break their family's financial stability in their absence, theyve got bigger issues.
In my case, she knows who the good auctioneers are and who the bad are, and specifically the reasons each is good/bad. She also knows what a properly advertised sale should look like and how the entire process works - she works on/off for an auctioneer as a clerk. When I croak theres no disappointment of "he said its $20k, auctioneer only got $2k," and its all a very quick and easy process, which is the most important thing to do during a very difficult time. Theres no extra effort necessary, no worries about tools rusting/losing value in the months that it takes to liquidate a shop one tool at a time, and hopefully less sentimentality to slow things down.
Beyond all that, if somebodys tools' value will make/break their family's financial stability in their absence, theyve got bigger issues.
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Carguy99
Well-known member
I don't think we own our tools. I think we are just taking care of them until the next owner takes over.
I have had this responsibility for too many of my friends and family to count.
That said, I have in my will some specific instructions about some of my tools. Most of these are tools I have gotten from others. these are the ones that are important to me. I have included a letter explaining why this was chosen for them. I also have a list of close friends (all tool guys) to assist with the sale of the equipment.
I feel it is too much money to leave it to chance. take care of it while you can...not for you, but for those you love.
I have had this responsibility for too many of my friends and family to count.
That said, I have in my will some specific instructions about some of my tools. Most of these are tools I have gotten from others. these are the ones that are important to me. I have included a letter explaining why this was chosen for them. I also have a list of close friends (all tool guys) to assist with the sale of the equipment.
I feel it is too much money to leave it to chance. take care of it while you can...not for you, but for those you love.
Buddy of mine at work had a neighbor pass away recently. Wife was selling the house and needed to clean it out. She started hauling stuff out of the garage to the curb on his unpaved street. He noticed, stopped by, rolled the gas edger back up to the house, knocked on the door and offered to help her sort junk from stuff to garage sale. When garage sale day came, he crawled out of bed at the crack of dawn and helped the widow out again, with the bidding war in the garage from guys trying to get tools for nothing. My buddy was fair with his pricing from what I saw of him making deals and bargaining with other sellers.
I purposely waited until 11:30AM to go by the sale, and carried my items inside to the widow to have her price them for me, rather than have any appearance of favoritism. (half a set of used C-man screwdrivers, and a few other random things was all I needed from what was left). She simply said "make me a reasonable offer." I gave her $20 for the few items I found. When my buddy asked what I paid for the stuff, and responded "You could have gotten it for less than that...", I responded: "That's not the point. Her husband passed away, she's selling a house full of stuff, packing up and moving. I gave her what the stuff was worth to me, and she needs the $20 more than I need another 5 screwdrivers and a pipe wrench." I'm sure the widow and her friends had already spent the last 5 hours haggling with people about $5-$50 stuff... I saw no point in lowballing her at the end of the sale.
I also asked "How much for the box of rocks in the garage?" (fish tank decorations), but those apparently weren't for sale. The widow's friends helping with the items for sale inside thought it was hilarious someone wanted to buy the box of rocks.
I still need some decorative rocks for my aquarium...
I purposely waited until 11:30AM to go by the sale, and carried my items inside to the widow to have her price them for me, rather than have any appearance of favoritism. (half a set of used C-man screwdrivers, and a few other random things was all I needed from what was left). She simply said "make me a reasonable offer." I gave her $20 for the few items I found. When my buddy asked what I paid for the stuff, and responded "You could have gotten it for less than that...", I responded: "That's not the point. Her husband passed away, she's selling a house full of stuff, packing up and moving. I gave her what the stuff was worth to me, and she needs the $20 more than I need another 5 screwdrivers and a pipe wrench." I'm sure the widow and her friends had already spent the last 5 hours haggling with people about $5-$50 stuff... I saw no point in lowballing her at the end of the sale.
I also asked "How much for the box of rocks in the garage?" (fish tank decorations), but those apparently weren't for sale. The widow's friends helping with the items for sale inside thought it was hilarious someone wanted to buy the box of rocks.
I still need some decorative rocks for my aquarium...santagary
Well-known member
I have tools and she has tractors, hay, cows and a new chain saw, I think she's ahead dollar wise.
DangerousDan55
Well-known member
I plan out my jobs that alows my wife to see the NEED for some tools I want.
Had several tons of crushed concrete dumped for a driveway. Got the wife out there to help with the shovel & whell barell. After about 45 minutes, I had my neighbor bring over his tractor with a FEL & box blade. 45 more minutes we were done.
wife said, "Honey, WE NEED ONE OF THESE"'
I Wanted a 60 gal air compressor.
She wanted spray paint the kitchen cabinets.
My cheep oilless compressor couldn't keep up.
Honey, WE NEED A BIGGER AIR COMPRESSOR.
Wife wanted new counter top & back splash.
Already had a electric saw/ scraper, but, I let her work for two evenings with a hammer & pry bars. The third day I gave her the electric saw/scraper to try,
Ho! Honey! I like this thing!
I get anything I want now days.
I just do it a little at a time.
Had several tons of crushed concrete dumped for a driveway. Got the wife out there to help with the shovel & whell barell. After about 45 minutes, I had my neighbor bring over his tractor with a FEL & box blade. 45 more minutes we were done.
wife said, "Honey, WE NEED ONE OF THESE"'
I Wanted a 60 gal air compressor.
She wanted spray paint the kitchen cabinets.
My cheep oilless compressor couldn't keep up.
Honey, WE NEED A BIGGER AIR COMPRESSOR.
Wife wanted new counter top & back splash.
Already had a electric saw/ scraper, but, I let her work for two evenings with a hammer & pry bars. The third day I gave her the electric saw/scraper to try,
Ho! Honey! I like this thing!
I get anything I want now days.
I just do it a little at a time.
atfulldraw
Well-known member
most people aren't skilled enough to do what you did.
and the ones who think they are can create a huge mess for those left behind.
I'm a lawyer, and I still hired one who specializes in trusts to handle mine for me.
No lawyer charges 30% unless it is a contingency fee agreement.
As a point of reference, my entire fee to my attorney comprised approximately one half of one tenth of one percent of my estate.
Rural53
Well-known member
I think this is a brilliant idea. It would save a lot of arguements.
e-tek
Well-known member
I guess not as the nearly hundred auctions I've been to have sold stuff for the highest bid - usually pennies on the dollar or they bundle smaller stuff and sell it by the bucket or pallet load. Can't say I've ever seen anything like wrenches, sockets or screwdrivers be sold individually. Maybe it happens, just never seen it.
Mrs E's family just had an estate sale for an uncle. His land was already entrusted to the heirs but all the shop tools and machinery went just like I said.
He had a D9 Cat that was about to go for like $3k, so a family member had to buy it so they could sell it later for what it was worth! Regardless of how good you think an Auction company is, they don't have ANY sentimental value to your stuff - highest bidder takes it. If you have a specific example of otherwise, I'd love to hear it.
e-tek
Well-known member
Doesn't appear anyone else has either Steevo, here's the reality:
Mrs E's family just did something similar. You want it, it comes from your piece of the pie. You'd be surprised (not) how little 'sentimental value' is worth when people have to pay for it!
Steevo
Well-known member
You have completely missed my point.
I never suggested that every individual tool ought to be sold item by item.
Your first "bundling" statement alluded to a sale where piles of stuff were sold by the pound.
I am saying that I know of several good estate and auction companies that know tools and equipment and know how to "bundle" items at a sale or auction for best results. A recent example was a liquidation of an automotive machine shop, where the boring bar was one auction item, and all of the tooling necessary to use it was another auction item. Same with valve facing vs. seat grinding tooling, bundled separately. Instead of a pallet of welding clamps, they had "bundles" of ten or twelve as auction lots.
I was making the case for using a company that knows tools (a lot more then my spouse knows them) and will bring her the most cash in hand for the least headache.
As ducksface so articulately explained it "My tools are worth nothing to my wife until converted to cash". I will make sure that she is positioned to get the best cash value for them.
e-tek
Well-known member
Garage Dog
Well-known member
Does my wife know what my tools and equipment is worth? Sure, she has an idea as do I, but it is just that, an idea or maybe an educated guess at the value that can be influenced by a variety of factors that change over the years.
My wife is a smart lady, but it probably does warrant a talk about how to maximize the value of tools, equipment and guns when that time comes for her and she wants to spend the rest of her years on a beach somewhere.
I know this isn't what Kevin asked - but a word of caution to those who mention in your posts here, in essence, you don't like or need to spend money on an attorney to put your affairs in order.
First, I don't like spending money on attorneys either, but not using them can be even more expensive.
Think you can just write a letter to a spouse, son or daughter stating that it is your desire they get X,Y or Z? Don't be so sure, at a minimum depending where you live, your written words need to specifically direct your estate to take a specific action(s), then have it notarized in the presence of two witnesses. Do you have a will? Is this letter a properly executed (legally binding) codicil to your will that will be recognized by the court?
Even if you managed to get it written legally and notarized, what was your state of mind when you wrote it? Were you under undo influence from another party? You get the idea.
IMHO - All assets and property should be included in your will or trust that has been drafted by a competent attorney (I know they are hard to find). If you want to make changes, make certain they are changed legally by consulting with your attorney.
The attorney's fees might not be worth it to you now, but the fees will be worth it to your heirs after you are gone...
My wife is a smart lady, but it probably does warrant a talk about how to maximize the value of tools, equipment and guns when that time comes for her and she wants to spend the rest of her years on a beach somewhere.
I know this isn't what Kevin asked - but a word of caution to those who mention in your posts here, in essence, you don't like or need to spend money on an attorney to put your affairs in order.
First, I don't like spending money on attorneys either, but not using them can be even more expensive.
Think you can just write a letter to a spouse, son or daughter stating that it is your desire they get X,Y or Z? Don't be so sure, at a minimum depending where you live, your written words need to specifically direct your estate to take a specific action(s), then have it notarized in the presence of two witnesses. Do you have a will? Is this letter a properly executed (legally binding) codicil to your will that will be recognized by the court?
Even if you managed to get it written legally and notarized, what was your state of mind when you wrote it? Were you under undo influence from another party? You get the idea.
IMHO - All assets and property should be included in your will or trust that has been drafted by a competent attorney (I know they are hard to find). If you want to make changes, make certain they are changed legally by consulting with your attorney.
The attorney's fees might not be worth it to you now, but the fees will be worth it to your heirs after you are gone...
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In my case, the friends I have in mind would know some ball park values for the items involved, particularly the car parts. I own no "specialized" tools of any substance.
My thinking is that if I have a pair of NOS fenders worth a couple of grand at current market prices, I don't want my wife throwing them on the scrap steel trailer, or in a dumpster. Or selling them to someone for $10.
I would never expect her to list ever socket individually, and hold out for retail prices. But I think they could give her advice good enough that she wouldn't be throwing out thousands and thousands of dollars.
If you don't have any idea of values, or advice from anyone you can trust, you are at the mercy of others. I would not want to leave my wife in that position. That's where I see friends helping out.
I was asked by my MIL to help with her Father's garage sale after he passed. He had done small engine repair at home for decades, and had a lot of tools/parts. When I got there, the ladies had sorted thing in a manner that was not logical, and they were going to sell stuff at true scrap/give-away prices. The goal was to get the garage cleaned out, so were not holding out for max. profit, but there's nothing wrong with getting a few bucks out of items of value, while pricing items in a bargain manner that assures that the shop is largely empty at the end of the day.
But I was stubborn about one item...a rusted, broken chain saw chain. It was in a box of misc. **** that the ladies had marked 25cents. I had one old guy who must have spent 20 minutes looking this thing over, thinking about it, complaining about this and that...it's rusty, it's broken, might be the wrong length, it's dull, etc. He couldn't bring himself to spend a quarter. I would have given it to him just to have one less item to throw out. But because he was being a jerk about it, and making it sound like the sale of the century, I refused to take less than 10cents. Which I got.
